The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #68040

William G. Johnson, PhD, School of Health Administration and Policy and Department of Economics, Arizona State University, Box 874506, Tempe, AZ 85287-4506, 480-965-7442, william.g.johnson@asu.edu and Rebecca M. B. White, BS, Mel & Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Box 4506, Tempe, AZ 85287-4506.

To address public health infrastructure concerns, there is a need for reliable and accessible public health data systems. A health data and surveillance system should provide information on morbidity and mortality; injuries; personal, environmental, and occupational risk factors; prevention and treatment; and costs. According to multiple public health authority groups, not only should systems be accessible, linkage across data systems is necessary for local, State, Tribal, and Federal planning^1,2,3.

A Community Health Data System (CHDS) links public and private public health data. This system is capable of (a) assessing health needs, (b) investigating the occurrence of health effects and health hazards, (c) analyzing determinants, (d) setting priorities, and (e) assisting in the development of plans and policies. Two CHDSs have been established in Arizona. The first CHDS focuses on children in a U.S.-Mexico border county. The target population for the second CHDS includes both children and adults in an urban county. They support needs assessments and strategic planning in addition to outcomes measurements of health, health care, and health disparities.

Highlighting current practices in rural and urban Arizona, we discuss the benefits of the CHDS model for health care planning, policy development, and evaluation. The CHDS is community-based, driven by community interests/concerns, supported by multiple community stakeholders’ input and interpretation, and available for unlimited and continuous inquiry and analysis. We contrast this to traditional research-driven approaches that tend to be limited in scope, limited by researcher assumptions, and segmented.

Learning Objectives:

• 3. Identify characteristics of the public health arena creating the need for accessible and linked public health data systems.
  6. Construct plans to develop a Community Health Data System to meet public health data needs in rural and urban communities.
  9. Evaluate the benefits of a Community Health Data System information model compared to traditional research-driven approaches to needs assessments, outcomes research, and strategic planning.

Keywords: Community Health,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.